Something that marijuana opponents say over and over is ‘they will not support marijuana reform until there is more research done.’ That is usually accompanied by efforts to prevent any marijuana research at any cost. The sad truth is that the last thing marijuana opponents want is for marijuana research to occur because they know that research will prove that marijuana is medicine. The ‘wait for more research’ tactic is just an attempt to delay marijuana reform. The State of Colorado approved 8 million dollars in grants for marijuana research and studies, which I’m sure is something that scares marijuana

By Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director State Public Health Department officials have recommended over $7 million dollars in grant funding to pay for a series of state-sponsored clinical trials to assess the safety and efficacy of cannabis and cannabinoids. The proposed studies include a pair of clinical trials to evaluate the use of cannabidiol (CBD), a nonpsychotropic plant cannabinoid, for patients with pediatric epilepsy. Two additional trials will assess the use of cannabis for patients suffering from post-traumatic stress. Other studies will assess the efficacy of either cannabis or CBD in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, brain tumors, ulcerative colitis,

Something you hear marijuana opponents say over and over is that ‘there needs to be more marijuana research conducted’ before they support reform. That of course is usually only a delay tactic, proven by the fact that these same marijuana opponents fight marijuana research efforts as much as possible. I think deep down they know that research will be favorable to the marijuana movement. Fortunately for marijuana supporters, Colorado health officials have announced their recommendations for 8 marijuana research grants. Per the Denver Post: Colorado health officials have recommended funding two studies on childhood epilepsy, two studies on post-traumatic stress

The fight to reschedule marijuana in Iowa has taken a very long time. When I started this blog, I met a guy named Carl Olsen online who had been fighting for years to get marijuana rescheduled in Iowa, and that fight continues to this day. Last week the Iowa Pharmacy Board was supposed to vote on marijuana rescheduling, but instead chose to punt the idea down the road. Per the Des Moines Register: Three members of the Iowa Board of Pharmacy recommended Wednesday morning that the state take marijuana out of the strictest classification of drugs, but the full board

I hate cancer. Right now I have two family members battling cancer, and it’s a very sad thing. I am confident that they will both win their battle. In the case of my step dad, this is his second battle. I have urged both of them to try marijuana to compliment their other treatments, and I’m happy to say, both of them are trying it. A new study was recently released that shows marijuana can shrink a very aggressive form of brain cancer. Per the Huffington Post: In a paper published Friday in the journal Molecular Cancer Therapies, a team of

NORML’s Deputy Director today on Alternet.org addressed new media claims that cannabis use can potentially shrink the brain: [excerpt] A new study identifying minor differences in the brain imaging of habitual marijuana consumers compared to non-users may be ideal for stimulating sensational headlines (e.g., “Regular pot smokers have shrunken brains, study says,” Los Angeles Times, November 10), but tells us little in regard to whether pot poses actual health risks. Specifically, an MRI scan revealed less gray matter in the orbital frontal cortex of pot-smoking subjects compared to those who had never used the drug. Researchers also identified increased connectivity

By Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director United States District Judge Kimberly Mueller heard testimony over the course of the past five days in regard to the constitutionality of the federal statute designating marijuana as a Schedule I Controlled Substance. At issue in this evidentiary hearing is whether the scientific literature provides a rational basis for the federal classification of the plant as a substance with “a high potential for abuse,” “no currently accepted medical use,” and a “lack of accepted safety” for use under medical supervision. The federal government’s position was articulated in testimony provided by Dr. Bertha Madras, Professor

The fact that marijuana is a Schedule 1 drug is slap in the face to science, compassion, and logic. For something to be Schedule 1, it has to have no medical value. Marijuana clearly has medical value. This is proven by the fact that the federal government grows and supplies medical marijuana to four federal medical marijuana patients, and has for decades. The federal government also has medical marijuana patents. It may be the most hypocritical policy in government to say that marijuana should remain Schedule 1, and that’s saying a lot because the government is full of hypocrisy. Doctors

By Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director Moderate cannabis consumption by young people is not positively associated with changes in intelligence quotient (IQ), according to data presented this week at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology annual congress in Berlin, Germany. Investigators at the University College of London analyzed data from 2,612 subjects who had their IQ tested at the age of eight and again at age 15. They reported no relationship between cannabis use and lower IQ at age 15 when confounding factors such as subjects’ history of alcohol use and cigarette use were taken into account. “In particular alcohol use

Social media will once again be flooded by legalization activists claiming the relative safety of marijuana as compared to legal drugs like alcohol. According to Christopher Ingraham, a Washington Post reporter, a study done at the University College of London has concluded that marijuana does not lead to lower IQ. This is along with study after study suggesting similar results, especially after Duke University published a flawed study in 2012 claiming the opposite. While I have no doubt that this will have a positive influence on drug reform, I am personally not too concerned with such studies. Is it really